A wireless communications network can employ various technologies for devices to communicate wirelessly. For example, a wireless local network (WLAN) can include a local area network (e.g., a computer network covering a relatively small physical area, like a home, office, or a small group of buildings such as a school) that uses radio waves rather than wires for communication between nodes (e.g., devices) of the network. Some examples of WLAN technology include WiFi, which can include any WLAN products that are based on any Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards.
Wireless connection between a sender and a receiver can employ radio frequency (RF) technology, a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation. Some exemplary radio frequencies used in WiFi are 2.5 Gigahertz (GHz) or 5 GHz. When an RF current is supplied to an antenna, an electromagnetic field can be created. The electromagnetic field can propagate through space. A component of a wireless communications network can be an access point (AP). The access point can allow a wireless mobile device to communicate with a wired network. One function of the access point can be broadcasting a wireless signal that computers equipped with wireless adapters or wireless mobile devices can detect and “tune” into.
An access point of a WiFi network can cover a geographic area determined by strength of signals sent from and received by the access point and physical characteristics of the geographic area. A variable number of mobile devices can be located within a communication range of the access point. A mobile device can be within communication range of multiple access points at the same time. A mobile device can sometimes determine its location using the locations of the access points to which the mobile device can communicate, by triangulating its location based on strength of the signals received from the access points, if the locations of the access points are known.